New Miles Hiked: 22.2
Total Miles Hiked: 25.4
6-8 June 2023
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Day 1: blue
Day 2: green
Day 3: orange |
This trip required a little more logistical planning than usual. I had already completed both the eastern and western ends of Lakeshore Trail, but needed the chunk in the middle. SO - I got up early, drove to the end of the Road to Nowhere and parked my car, got picked up by Kevin from Bryson City Outdoors for a shuttle to Fontana Marina, took the 11:30 am boat shuttle from Fontana Marina to the Hazel Creek access point to begin my hike.
My shuttle by Kevin was great (same guy I used last time to shuttle from Deep Creek to Noland Divide trailhead). He was very interesting and talkative. Made the 50 minute drive go by very quickly. The boat shuttle was really cool - never seen the Smokies from quite that perspective. The car shuttle was $130 (Kevin had to drive from Bryson City to the Road to Nowhere and then to Fontana and back to Bryson City - probably a total of about 2.5 hours + gas). The boat shuttle was $30 for a one-way ride from the Marina to the trail.
A general observation about Lakeshore Trail: reading the little brown book led me to think that most of the trail would be old road beds and that there would be lots of artifacts like old cars, wash tubs, chimneys, etc. along the way. There WERE parts of the trail that were old road beds, and I DID see some of those artifacts, but really most of the trail is similar to other low-elevation trails in the Smokies. Lots of ridge-side walking along narrow trails, sort of following the contour line, moving from the edge of the ridge, in to a valley (often with a shallow creek crossing), and then back out to a ridge. Despite the fact that the trail follows the shore of Fontana Lake, during the summer there are not a lot of great views of the lake - often you can see it through the trees, but there are no great overlooks. Also, despite how flat it looks on the elevation profile in the little brown book, there are some sections with significant steepness - not very long sections usually, but some steep ups and downs.
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| the Miss Hazel shuttle boat |
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| approaching Hazel Creek from the marina |
Day 1: Hazel Creek to Campsite #81
The boat shuttle drops off at the Hazel Creek access trail, a 0.7 mi trail from the lake up to the Lakeshore Trail. Depending on water level, you might have to walk the whole 0.7 miles or you may get dropped off part way up the trail. It was really cool to cruise across Fontana Lake and see the mountains rising above it.
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| Hazel Creek access point |
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| Hazel Creek access trail |
As you approach the Lakeshore Trail, you come to backcountry campsite #86 (Proctor) which sits right on Hazel Creek. This is a large campsite with several tenting areas and campfire rings. I suspect it is very popular with folks who like to fish and use it as a base camp. Looks like a nice spot to spend the night.
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| Backcountry campsite #86 (Proctor) |
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| Lakeshore Trailhead at the old town of Proctor |
The Hazel Creek access trail runs into the Lakeshore Trail right at the bridge over Hazel Creek in the old town of Proctor. These days there's not much left except for the Calhoun House and barn, and some open fields and fences. But this area was a big town before the park with a railroad line running through, and logging operations and farms.
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| Hazel Creek seen from the bridge in Proctor |
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| Lakeshore Trail on the south side of Hazel creek in Proctor |
Turning right on the Lakeshore Trail looked like I was ambling through someone's weedy lawn... There was little to no "trail" here, and even the sign that pointed the correct direction was overgrown with weeds! Shortly after this though the trail turns uphill and becomes more obvious to follow.
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Some of the cool plants I saw along the way:
Piedmont Rhododendron, Spiderwort, Red Ring Milkweed, Maidenhair Fern |
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| Ollie Cove - Lakeshore Trail junction |
Just 0.7 miles from the Proctor Bridge you come to the junction with the Ollie Cove trail. This is an additional access trail used I think when the water levels of the lake are lower and the boats can't get all the way in to the Hazel Creek access trail. This is a 0.3 mile trail that dives down the ridge to the water's edge. I hiked down, and then back up to continue on the Lakeshore trail.
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| Lake shore at the bottom of Ollie Cove trail |
The next section of trail is a 2.6 mile chunk from Ollie Cove to backcountry campsite #81 (North Shore). This section climbs about 700' up the side of Welch Ridge and then drops down the other side.
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| Lakeshore Trail |
Met some critters on the trail in this section. First off I came across this Garter Snake in the middle of the trail - almost stepped on it! But it never moved, except to stick its tongue out at me. You can see how it had flattened itself out, trying to make it seem bigger and scarier. But it just sat there while I took its picture.
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| Garter Snake in the middle of the trail |
Second, I met this BIG old black bear. As I was coming around a corner I heard some sounds in the brush above me, and thought to myself that it didn't sound very big so it must be a deer or a squirrel. Came around the corner and this big guy was staring at me... (I'm assuming a male because it was BIG and alone - no cubs). I said "Hey bear!" a few times to make sure he knew where I was (I was probably 50 yards away). Most of the time I only see the back end of bears as they scamper away through the trees, but this guy was in no mood to scamper. He huffed at me a couple of times, but didn't move (and neither did I). Finally, he turned and headed off over the top of the ridge and left me alone.
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| Black Bear on the ridge above me |
The rest of the day's hiking was uneventful and ultimately I arrived at my destination for the day: campsite #81 (North Shore).
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| marker for the side trail to campsite #81 |
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| campsite #81 - North Shore |
I got into the campsite pretty early in the day, having only had about 4.6 miles to hike. It was a beautiful day so I got out sleeping pad and took a nap in the middle of the campsite! A while later, another hiker I had met near the Proctor bridge walked in to camp as well. Charles, trailname Skyscraper, a 73 year old hiker from NC who is section hiking the Benton MacKaye trail.
Campsite 81 is nice - several good flat spots for tents, a fire ring, and one set of bear cables. It sits right on Mill Branch, and is just a few hundred yards from the lake shoreline. It's also a short hike (~ 0.1 mile) off the main trail which gives it a little bit of privacy. Just downstream of the campsite is an old home site and barn site. Not much left of either, other than level plots of land. There is a spring just below the homesite.
That afternoon I explored the area a bit. There are 3 cemeteries in the area of campsite 81, and I visited all 3. The Nelms Family and Cook cemeteries were small - just a few graves. Oddly marked with crosses made from PVC pipe (I guess it makes sense, but just seemed incongruous with the old cemetery). The Fairview Cemetery was quite large - probably 20-30 graves, most marked with headstones, some modern and some original. Just below the Fairview Cemetery was a huge picnic table, and there was a wide trail/road that led from the cemetery down to the water, presumably for family access.
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| Grave in the Nelms Family cemetery |
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| Picnic table below the Fairview Cemetery |
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| Fairview Cemetery |
Day 2: Campsite #81 (North Shore) - Campsite #98 (Chambers Creek)The stretch between campsites 81 and 98 was relatively unremarkable. It follows the contours of the lakeshore, and passes through a couple of other campsites along the way. There is some elevation change, but nothing terribly dramatic. I saw some of the remnants of former residents described in the little brown book.
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| Lakeshore Trail climbs through the woods |
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| Backcountry Campsite #77 (Pilkey Creek) trail marker |
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| Backcountry Campsite #77 (Pilkey Creek) |
Stopped here at Pilkey Creek campsite for a snack break. Looked like a nice site with some good flat spots and a nice fire ring / sitting area.
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| Footbridge over Pilkey Creek |
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| Lakeshore Trail |
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| Remnants of an old car |
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| View of Fontana Lake |
Along this section of trail you get occasional views through the trees of the lake which is typically pretty far below you.
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Backcountry Campsite #76 (Kirkland Creek) trail marker
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| Backcountry Campsite #76 (Kirkland Creek) |
Also stopped in here at campsite #76 for a quick break. This site is at a bend in the trail and is literally directly on the trail. It's large enough for several tents and sits right next to Kirkland Creek, and has a couple of fire rings.
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| Homesite near the Welch-Kirkland Cemetery |
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| Welch-Kirkland Cemetery |
While I was at campsite #76 I took the opportunity to stow my pack on the bear cables and take the side trail up to the Welch-Kirkland cemetery. At the top of the ridge prior to getting to the cemetery is an old home site with a well-preserved rock wall, complete with a washtub sitting on top. The cemetery was pretty large, and also had many of the PVC pipe crosses.
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| Wildflowers: Lily Leaved Twayblade Orchid, Creeping Phlox, and Greater Tickseed |
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| Old Chimney |
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| Backcountry Campsite #98 (Chambers Creek) |
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| Old chimney in campsite #98 |
I did not love campsite #98 (Chambers Creek). There is no trail sign on the Lakeshore trail pointing to the side trail to the campsite (the side trail is fairly evident if you are looking for it; it leads up and away from the lake just to the west of the footbridge over Chambers Creek). The campsite itself consists of two parts: one in the amongst the trees in an area with almost no flat spots, and the second in a very overgrown field that is an old homesite. There is one open flat spot right behind the old chimney, but that's about it... It was also SUPER buggy (it is June after all - the whole trail was pretty buggy). It looks like more people camp in the flat open area right at the lake shore.
Charles joined me here for the evening again. We had a small campfire to keep away the bugs, and chatted the night away. Put the rain fly on my tent just in case (there had been a few raindrops earlier in the evening), and also because I had been a little chilly the night before without it.
Day 3: Campsite #98 to Lake View Drive
Got up and out pretty early. On the trail by about 7:30 am I think. The first climb of the day out of the campsite was a doozy! It's amazing how flat everything looks on the trail elevation profile compared to how steep some bits are. Mostly not long, but definitely some steep sections.
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| climbing away from campsite #98 |
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| some sections of the trail are lined with large boulders or bluffs |
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| Mountain Laurel :-) one of my favorite flowers |
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| trail through the trees |
This section of Lakeshore Trail has no connections to other trails between Hazel Creek and Forney Creek - it just follows the lake contours and there is a big blank spot on the map to the north. This section of the park is dominated by Welch Ridge coming down from the main ridge of the Smokies, and is drained by several creek systems that empty in to the lake.
Happy to have this one checked off of the list. It took more logistical work than most, having to arrange both a car and boat shuttle, but it all paid off. I enjoyed the trail - but it's probably not a section I will come back to a lot in the future. Mostly I prefer the higher elevation hikes.
At this point I only have about 42 miles of trail left to complete to finish my map, and I've got plans to get them done this summer. Hard to believe this quest is almost at an end! Along the way on this hike I did a lot of thinking and daydreaming: about eventually thru-hiking the AT, and about other trails I will do in between finishing the Smokies and retirement (Foothills Trail, Art Loeb Trail, Pinhoti Trail...). But right now I'm really looking forward to wrapping this project up.
Til next time, happy hiking.
